KNOXVILLE—Welcome to our weekly column, “The State of the Vols.” Here we summarize and analyze the previous week’s action while looking forward to the coming week for the Vols. Check back next Monday for volume 12.

Tennessee is headed into the last two weeks of spring practice and has just five practices left before the Orange and White Game. Every spring, fans wrestle with how to judge the progress of their team. Is the defense good? Or is the offense just bad? Is the converse true? It’s no secret at this point that the Vol defense is demonstrably better than the offense. That is to be expected, after all, as the defense is an experienced unit, while the offense is breaking in new quarterbacks and receivers. Regardless of the competition, here are a few things we can tell about each unit thus far.

1. The Vol defense won’t finish last in the SEC like it did in 2012. Let’s face it, the Vols fielded the worst defense in school history last year and there’s nowhere to go but up. Early in the spring you can tell the Vols are anxious to put a terrible season behind them and atone for their past sins, and this looks like a unit which should at least finish in the middle of the pack in the SEC. Compared to last season, they’re playing with much more confidence, have more depth at line and in the secondary, and have more speed at linebacker. Add all that together and you’ll see fewer big plays from opponents this fall. Though the Tennessee defense may not be good enough to carry a young offense, they won’t play the Vols out of games like the 2012 version.

2. Unlike 2012, the defense won’t finish last in the SEC in sacks. Vol defensive coordinator John Jancek said the Vol pass rush “has a long way to go” this week (and he’s right), but it’s clear Tennessee has enough talent and depth on the line to finish with more than 17 sacks (their total last year). Jancek’s 4-3 scheme is much more aggressive than Sunseri’s 3-4 “defense”, and though Tennessee’s line needs to get into the backfield more quickly, they have shown a consistent ability to collapse the pocket—something which was noticeably absent last season.

3. The Vol receiving corps has a long way to go but will be a productive unit with time. No unit has improved more this spring than Tennessee’s receivers, but no group had further to go, either. Fortunately for the Vols, the receivers have fully embraced Zach Azzanni’s (Tennessee’s wide receivers coach) instruction and their production has improved accordingly. Jason Croom, Cody Blanc, Pig Howard, Vincent Dallas, Jacob Carter, Paul Harris, and Devrin Young have all shown flashes that make you believe they’ll be productive SEC receivers as they continue to develop.

4. Tennessee’s quarterbacks haven’t proven they can lead the team to victory this season. Sure Justin Worley and Nathan Peterman are working with an inexperienced receiving corps and adjusting to a new scheme, but most expected more consistency from them headed into spring practice. It’s understandable missing passes in team portions of practice when going up against the experienced Vol defense, especially this early in the year. What is inexcusable is missing routine passes in individual drills—something both Peterman and Worley have been doing with regularity. Jones continues to preach consistency and until either Vol QB shows the ability to complete basic passes with ease, neither will be named the starter.

Could incoming 4-star QBs Riley Ferguson and Joshua Dobbs contend for the starting job when they arrive this summer? That depends on how Worley and Peterman progress through the Orange and White Game and how ready Dobbs and Ferguson are when they arrive on campus. Jones has repeatedly stated how hard it is for true freshmen to grasp the offense, so Worley and Peterman definitely retain an inside track on the starting job despite their unimpressive performances thus far.

5. The secondary is much improved. The Vol defensive backs got absolutely scorched by every opponent last season, yet will be a faster and more fundamentally sound unit when they take the field this fall. JUCO defensive back Riyahd Jones was a huge addition this offseason and is working with the first team. Safety Brian Randolph looks healthy after tearing his ACL in the Florida game last year, while Tennessee’s other returning players in the defensive backfield look ready to contribute.

6. As a whole, the defense is playing faster and more physical than at any point last year. Every unit looks better than last season, and nearly every player looks better than they did at the end of 2012. It’s clear the team has embraced the new staff, and they are clearly motivated to prove last season was an abomination. One Vol said Saturday’s scrimmage featured more big hits than Tennessee’s entire 2012 spring campaign, and the confidence with which the defense is playing certainly lends intself to a fast and physical style.

7. The biggest concern on defense continues to be a failure to consistently tackle. This one speaks for itself, doesn’t it? The Vols need to be a drastically better tackling team than they were last year if they want to make noise in the SEC. Some practices tackling isn’t an issue, while others it looks like half the team hasn’t put on pads before (see the entire 2012 season). They’ve shown the ability to hit hard and wrap up; they simply have to be more consistent in showing that ability.

Tennessee will practice Tuesday and Thursday morning before scrimmaging Saturday. Throughout the week the Vol staff will be looking for the defensive front to put more consistent pressure on the quarterback, better tackling technique from the entire team, and a more efficient passing game from both Worley and Peterman. We’ll have updates for you throughout the week after each practice ends.